Austrian Apricot Cake

It’s hard to pick a favourite fruit in the summer, but I think apricots are underrated in North America. So here I am, a champion for apricots! They make the most spectacular jam and they’re also great for one of my favourite tray bakes — Austrian Apricot Cake, also known as Marillenkuchen.

Where I am (in British Columbia, Canada) we usually have a short window to buy them fresh, whether grown locally or brought in from the Okanagan. The second I know they’re at my local produce shop, I go and buy 10 pounds. Use some right away and freeze the rest. The peaches can wait! 

Yield: 16 squares

Austrian Apricot Cake

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Austrian Marillenkuchen, a light sponge cake topped with apricots and dusted with icing sugar.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

Apricot Cake (Marillenkuchen)

• 8 ripe apricots, washed, halved, pit removed
• 1/2 cup butter, unsalted, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 ounce Austrian rum (optional)
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
• 1/4 cup icing sugar, for dusting

Apricot Glaze (optional)

• 1/4 cup apricot jam
• 1 tablespoon Austrian rum or water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a square baking 8"x 8" pan with parchment (leave some hanging over the side for easy removal).
2. Wash, halve, and remove the pits from eight (8) ripe apricots. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions.
5. Beat in the vanilla, rum (if using), and lemon zest.
6. In another bowl, add the egg whites and a pinch of salt. Whip until stiff peaks form.
7. Add the flour to the egg yolk mixture, folding until just incorporated.
8. Add one third of the egg whites to the batter, folding vigorously. This will help loosen the stiff batter.
9. Add the remaining egg whites and fold gently until just incorporated.
10. Spread batter evenly in the prepared baking pan.
11. Top with apricot halves. Do not press the fruit into the batter, the cake will rise around it.
12. Bake for 40 minutes or until the cake is golden and springs back.
13. For extra apricot flavour, brush the apricots with warm apricot glaze when the cake comes out of the oven. To make the glaze, warm the apricot jam with the rum or water. It should be thin enough to brush on the fruit with a pastry brush.
14. Allow the cake to cool, then dust with icing sugar before cutting and serving.

Notes

Because of the fruit, this cake should be eaten within 1-2 days.

Why does it matter how I place the apricots? 

This is an important step, so don’t haphazardly place the apricots anywhere, too close together, or too far apart. Whatever you do, don’t press them into the cake. I know it’s tempting, but trust me when I say the cake will rise up around the fruit.

Why is there no additional leavening in this recipe?

Like many European cakes, this one relies on eggs for the leaven. The eggs are separated so the yolks can be creamed in with the butter/sugar mixture and the whites are whipped up to stiff peaks to provide the oven spring. Adding any additional leavening (like baking powder) to this recipe would cause the batter to rise too quickly and cause the apricots to sink.

Why is Austrian Apricot Cake one of your favourite cakes?

When I was 16 going on 17, I had a brief stint at a bakery just outside Vienna in Baden. My chef insisted I go to pick up the fruit order so I could learn more German words during my time there. Typically it was fresh apricots (Marillen) and strawberries (Erdbeeren), sometimes plums (Pflaumen). 

Unlike back at home, none of the typical cakes we made each day were covered in buttercream. This was an absolute revelation to me at the time! Most cakes used fresh fruit and whipped cream, and the occasional wedding cake had marzipan.

This was not only one of my favourite cakes that I learned to make, but also my favourite pick for an afternoon treat on my way home. I enjoy its simplicity and how if you make it just right, each square has its own half an apricot. I think it has the perfect sweet and tart balance, perfect with a morning or mid-afternoon coffee or tea.